


True Love Doesn't Hurt

by DWgirl1979



Series: True Love Doesn’t Hurt [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Jensen, Hurt Jensen Ackles, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Alan, Protective Donna, Protective Jensen, Protective Joshua, Worried Joshua, Worried Mackenzie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2020-07-08 19:48:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19875106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DWgirl1979/pseuds/DWgirl1979
Summary: “ “Why did you have to come so late?” Mac whined.“Cause Jen’s teacher wanted to talk to me.”“Oh. Okay.” Was Mac’s only answer, which was weird for her since she always had something to say when Josh arrived late.Josh looked at Jensen, who  had a smirk on his face.“That’s it? That’s your answer?” Josh proded.“I like Jen better.” The five year old said with a smile on her face.Jensen laughed quietly at Josh’s face of utter surprise. Then Josh erupted in laughter.“The nerve on you…” He said finally. His siblings high-fived.Josh wondered why life couldn’t always be like that.”Or, the story about how Jensen’s life changed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first try at writing SPN fanfiction.  
> This was also something my muse needed me to write after having read so many good fics in the same topic...  
>   
> This story wouldn't have been possible without my awesome beta: nissam_iris, nor without the help from other of my (also awesome) friends (who do not have an AO3 account to share).  
> Disclaimer: I don’t own anyone in this story. I am only borrowing some names for a non-profit idea that came to mind.  
> I took many liberties when writing this story, for instance the hospital scene.
> 
> **Warning: There might be (badly written) physical abuse. Please do not read if it can trigger anything.  
>   
>  There might also be some swearing. **

Josh knew it was a long time coming. Jensen’s teacher, Mr. Kim Manners, had been trying to get a hold of him - or his father- for some time now.

Mr. Manners was now standing in the school entrance, a terrified Jensen by his side. Josh knew there was no escaping this one, so he went to save a very frightened 12-year-old from his not-so-frightening teacher.

“Are you Jensen’s brother?” Mr. Manners kindly asked.  
  
“I am, sir.” Josh replied. “Is something wrong?”  
  
“Academically speaking, no. Jensen is a brilliant student. A little silent, but brilliant. No. I’m worried about his home environment.” He paused. “Maybe we should address this issue privately?”  
  
“No need. Jensen will figure it out anyways. He’s always been very…” Josh paused.  
  
“Perceptive?” Jensen asked quietly.  
  
“That’s the word!” Josh turned to look at the teacher, while ruffling his brother’s hair. “See what I mean?”  
  
The teacher smiled tightly. “Yes, I’ve seen it during class. Going back to the topic, I’m worried about the bruises he supports from time to time.” Josh almost cringed. Almost. “I’ve tried to ask him, but he says he is just clumsy. While that is a valid reason, some of the bruises he supports seem to be hand-shaped. I think you understand what concerns me.” Mr. Manners looked straight into Josh’s eyes to see his reaction.  
  
“Yeah, I do understand.” Josh answered as calmly as possible. “To be honest, that is something I would like to know myself. Some of said bruises really are from falls, since Jen is quite accident prone, but I am unsure about the others. I believe that something may be happening at school, but since he doesn’t say anything, that is only my guess.” He finished turning to look at Jensen, who shrugged.  
  
“Oh, I see.” Mr. Manners said, unconvinced. “I’ll try to keep an eye on him while in class and see if anything is the matter. I’m going to give you my number, just in case. Please don’t hesitate to call me should you need anything.” He searched for a piece of paper to write his number on. “Anything at all.” He said to Josh as he gave it to him.  
  
“Thank you, Mr…” Josh paused, pretending not to know his name.  
  
“Manners. Kim Manners. And what is your name?” The teacher asked.  
  
“Joshua Ackles.” He extended a hand, which Mr. Manners shaked. “Come on, Jen. We’ve gotta go get Mac. She’s gonna kill me for being late!”  
  
“See you on Monday, Mr. Manners.” Jensen said.  
  
“Have a good weekend, boys.” The man replied. Josh nodded his thanks. _Crisis averted_ , he thought.

____

  


“Thanks, Josh.” Jensen said, a couple of minutes later.  
  
“Don’t mention it, kiddo. So… that was the famous Kim Manners.” Josh teased. “I should have told him he had a fanboy.”  
Jensen glared while blushing.  
  
“He’s a good man.” Josh continued.  
  
“Yeah, he is.” Jensen agreed, quietly.  
  
“Penny for your thoughts?”  
  
Jensen smiled sadly. “I feel kind of sorry for him. Because of me, he will probably be forever worried about abused kids.”  
  
“God, Jen! No.” Josh stopped walking in front of Jensen. “You have nothing to feel sorry about. In any case, should be either mom, dad or me who feel guilty. But not you. Neither you, nor Mac have anything to feel guilty about.”  
  
“Then you shouldn’t either, Josh. You are doing the best you can.”  
  
“I know, kiddo. But, sometimes, I feel that what I’m doing isn’t enough to keep you safe.”  
  
“You are still a kid too, you know?” Jensen said, mouth quirking in the form of a smile.  
  
Josh ruffled Jensen’s hair. “Hey! I’m four years older than you!” He said. “Now, come on! Mac’s really going to kill me…”  
  
Jensen laughed and ran off. Josh followed.

  
  


“Why did you have to come so late?” Mac whined.  
  
“Cause Jen’s teacher wanted to talk to me.”  
  
“Oh. Okay.” Was Mac’s only answer, which was weird for her since she always had something to say when Josh arrived late.  
  
Josh looked at Jensen, who had a smirk on his face.  
  
“That’s it? That’s your answer?” Josh proded.  
  
“I like Jen better.” The five year old said with a smile on her face.  
  
Jensen laughed quietly at Josh’s face of utter surprise. Then Josh erupted in laughter.  
  
“The nerve on you…” He said finally. His siblings high-fived.  
  
Josh wondered why life couldn’t always be like that.

  


When they got home - if you could call it that - everyone was silent.  
  
No laughter, no talking nonsense, just silence.  
  
Having left Jensen and Mac far from the door without being obvious, Josh opened the door as quietly as possible and looked inside. 

  


No-one was home.

  


Josh breathed a sigh in relief.  
  
“Are they there?” Jensen asked timidly.  
  
“No, it’s empty.” Josh answered.  
  
They made their way inside. As always, and due to Trisha’s OCD, everything was tidy. There wasn’t a speck of dust.  
  
Because of their mother’s OCD, the siblings knew to keep everything in order. There couldn’t even be a cookie cramb on the table, no matter how small, because it would set her off and things would get bad for both: Jensen and Josh. Josh, being the oldest, had lived during a time in which things were not that way. He remembered that before Jensen was born, their mother hadn’t drunk much, if at all. She wouldn’t care if there was a new mark on the table. When their mother became pregnant with the smaller boy, her attitude changed. She began to snap at everyone who dared ask her something or would scream if she didn’t like the answer to a question. At four years old, Josh had learnt enough swear words to make a sailor blush, courtesy of his mother... 

  


After Jensen was born, their mother divorced her husband in favour of running away with his boss and her kids. The first couple of months after the separation were not all that bad in spite of the screaming and the permanent smell of alcohol. Both Josh and the baby got to spend time with their dad. But something changed after that. One day, when the brothers came back from their father’s house, mother told them to say goodbye, since they were moving out the next day. Joshua did as asked. After that, moving around became their life. It would be many years later he would be told that their stepfather was a drug dealer/consumer, and that he had come close to being arrested because of the boys’ father. Because all of this happened only after Jensen was born, he became their parents scapegoat. This meant that if something went wrong, who were they gonna blame? Jensen. And the punishments they would put him through physically, were useful to keep Josh under control. It was a never-ending cycle. But it was something that Josh would never blame Jensen for.  
  
Of course, when Mackenzie came along, the blame their parents put on Jensen wasn’t transferred. Mac was the baby of the house. She was also the reason why they stopped moving around so much.

  


All of this Josh thought in the time it took to go from outside the door and into the kitchen.  
  
“I’ll make a snack. Mother and Father are probably coming late tonight.” He said.  
  
“Okay.” Jensen answered, before Mac raced him to their room.  
  
Josh chuckled. He started pulling things out while he listened how Mac told Jensen about her day.  
Mac had always been the talkative of the three, whilst Jensen was the most quiet. The contrast was hilarious. Mac could make your ear fall off, Jensen could make you appreciate sounds. That’s also why they made a good team: Mac talked, Jen listened. It was always that way, unless they were on their own, like now. Jensen only talked with his siblings.

  


_That is something else we can blame our parents for _, Josh thought.__

____

  


“Snacks are ready.” He called.  
  
“We’re here.” Jensen answered entering the kitchen with Mac in toe.  
  
“There’s cookies and milk. Eat enough not to feel hungry for a while, but not enough to skip dinner because you are full.” 

  
  


Some time later, they heard a noise outside their door.  
  
A car was parking in the driveway.  
  
Hurriedly, the siblings tried to put everything away, so that the adult coming in wouldn’t notice.  
  
As footsteps were heard coming out of the car, Josh and Jensen tried to clean up the crumbs left by the cookies. They managed pretty well, but they couldn’t clean them all, so Josh was hoping that if it was their mother, she’d be too drunk to notice. If Lady Luck didn’t help them, they would be screwed.  
  
By the time the door-handle turned and the door opened, the siblings were standing by it, waiting for the person coming in to acknowledge them.  
  
“Children.” Mother said.  
  
“Hello, madam.”  
  
Mother didn’t say anything as she walked into the kitchen.  
  
The kids followed.  
  
“Mac.” Josh whispered without taking his eyes off of their mother. “Go to our room.”  
  
She silently left.  
  
“Joshua, Jensen, come here.” Mother said. “Why are there crumbs on the table?” She asked, not unkindly. The brothers weren’t fooled.  
  
The question was met with silence.  
  
“ANSWER ME!” She screamed.  
  
“It’s my fault.” Josh replied. “I gave them the cookies.”  
  
“Jensen, come closer.”Mother said.  
  
“It was my fault, not his!”  
  
“SHUT UP!” She roared. Graving Jensen’s forearm forcefully, she shoved him against the table. “Stop covering for him, I know the truth.” Suddenly, Trisha slapped Jensen once. “That is for making your brother take the fall. He shouldn’t lie for you.” Another slap and a punch to the stomach. “That is for leaving crumbs, you disgusting brat.” Two more punches, the last one strong enough to make Jensen hit the ground. “Your father will hear about this.”  
  
Without saying another word, Mother picked up her car keys and left.  
  
Josh ran towards Jensen, who was crying silently on the ground.  
  
“Jen? It’s okay. It’s over. Just let it all out.” He said as he rocked back and forth in a soothing manner with Jensen in his arms.  
  
Jensen had managed to drag his legs towards his chest. It seemed that he was trying to make himself smaller.  
  
“Jen, it’s over. She’s gone.” In an instant, Josh found himself being hugged tightly by a still crying Jensen.  
  
“Hurts.” He said between sobs.  
  
“Where does it hurt the most?” Josh asked.  
  
“Chest.”  
  
“Okay. Let’s go to the bathroom to check the damage.”  
  
Josh helped Jensen get up and slowly made their way.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

As he helped Jensen to remove his T-shirt, Josh could see that the bruises that Jensen supported from a few days prior didn’t disappear. Not only that, but they were made worse by the new beating. Ice was needed. Although, fortunately, there seemed to be no broken ribs.  
  
“You’ll probably be stiff for a few days. Not to mention black and blue.” Josh said after a more detailed examination. “Let’s go to our room. Stay there with Mac while I get some ice.”  
  
Their bedroom door was closed. Josh knocked on it four times to signal that it was them outside, not their parents, and that the situation had finished.  
  
Mac opened the door to let Josh and Jensen in, and followed as they sat in Mac’s bed, which was furthest from the door. As soon as she reached them, Mac, gently but fiercely, hugged Jensen. Moving silently, Josh sat next to them. Jensen, having seen him, reached over for Josh to hug him. 

“Everything will be okay. We are gonna get through this. We just have to wait.” He said, as he rubbed his sibling’s backs.

Once they were calm enough, Josh left to get some ice for Jensen’s chest. 

“You know the drill. First sound you hear outside, you hide it.” He reminded when he handed Jen the ice. “I’m gonna clean the table. Yell if you need anything.” He looked at Mac as if asking what she wanted to do.

“I’m staying here with Jen.” She said.

Josh nodded and left.

While cleaning up, Josh began again to think about the unfairness of their lives. How could it be that while in other families the smallest unintentional scratch doesn’t go unattended while in their family, if one (Jensen) cried during a beating, then he would only suffer more for it? How could it be that ice had to be hidden from their parents sights if they did not want to suffer worse consequences than the one he had already received?

All of this was what Josh had been thinking when he heard the car.

“Jen, Mac, Father and Mother are here.” He called.

Jensen and Mackenzie rushed to where their brother was standing.

Immediately, the door opened. Mother came in first, followed closely by Father.

“Hello, madam. Hello, sir.” The siblings saluted.

“Children.” Dad spoke. “I hear that one of you was causing your mother trouble.” He said looking at Jensen.

Then, too quickly for Josh to do anything, father grabbed Jen forcefully and started pulling him towards the bedroom and out of the other’s view.

“You are not going to have dinner tonight, nor are you going to have lunch tomorrow.” Father yelled. Josh heard a sound similar to a slap, and then the door slammed closed.

“Now that that is taken care of, kids, come give me a hug.”

Mac and Josh moved unenthusiastically, but trying not to show it much. They had to hold their breaths not to smell. Father reeked of alcohol.

Dinner went on silently. After it, mother and father left once again. 

Josh and Mac went to their bedroom to check on their brother and give him something to eat. Josh was worried about Jensen. The kid was already too thin, and missing any meals wasn’t going to do him any favors.

“Jen? We brought you some food.” Mac said. They heard a sneeze. “Are you okay?”

“I’m a bit cold and tired, but otherwise I’m-” Another sneeze. “Fine.”

Leaving the food tray on the floor, Josh reached out to touch Jensen’s forehead.

“You are warm.” Josh said. “You are probably coming down with something.” He paused. “I don’t think we have any Children’s Tylenol left.”

“Maybe we can ask the neighbors from across the street.” Mac suggested.

“Okay. Mac, you stay here with Jen while I go and ask.” 

“No! Please take us with you! What if mother and father come back?” Mac cried.

“That’s not going to happen…” Josh replied calmly.

“We’re scared, Josh.” Jen said quietly. That tone, combined with the big shiny green eyes and Josh’s desire not to leave them alone, did him in.

Josh sighed. “All right. Just put on a coat. It’s getting cold outside.” He said.

Once they were ready, Josh picked Jensen up, against the boy’s protests.

“I can walk, you know.” Jen said scouling.

Josh ignored him.

Only after they were across the street, did Josh put Jensen down. Mac knocked.

A kind-looking blond woman opened the door.

“What are you kids doing outside in such a chilly night?” She asked. Jensen sneezed. “Oh, my! Come in! You’re going to get sick standing out there.”

“Thanks.” Josh said as he hurried his siblings inside.

“So, what were you kids doing outside?” The nice lady asked again.

“Sorry to bother you, madam, but we were hoping you had some Children’s Tylenol. It’s for my little brother. He seems to be sick but we didn’t have any left and I didn’t want to leave them alone to go buy some.” Josh answered. 

“First of all, ‘madam’ is too formal. Call me Donna.” The woman - Donna - smiled.” As for the Tylenol, I think we do have some left from the last time our nephew stayed over.” She turned around. “Alan, do we have any Children’s Tylenol left?”

“I think so. Let me check.” Alan answered. “Damn it! This will not be helpful at all. It’s expired.”

“Looks like we are making a trip to the drug store.” Josh told his siblings. “Thanks for your help, anyways.” 

“Nonsense! You kids stay here while Alan goes to get it.” 

“There’s really no-” Josh tried to say, but Donna cut him off.

“We need to re-stock anyways.” 

“We don’t want to disturb you.” Jensen said quietly.

Alan knelt in front of where Jensen was sitting.

“It’s no trouble at all, son. Don’t you worry.” He said.

“I don’t know how to thank you, sir.” Josh said from behind him.

“Call me Alan, kid.” Alan smiled. He gently ruffled Jensen’s hair before getting up and grabbing a coat.

“Thanks, Alan.” Josh returned the smile. Alan nodded and left.

Jensen coughed, bringing Donna’s attention back to him.

“Come on. Let’s get him comfortable.” She said.

While Donna went to get some pillows, Josh helped Jensen lay down. Donna had offered to get the boy to a bed, but the idea was shut down by both boys who felt that they were intruding enough without taking the offer.

Josh got Mac to sit next to Jen.

“Jen, are you okay?” Mac asked. “You’re shivering.”

“Just c-cold.” He answered. “I like th-them.”

“Donna and Alan?” Josh asked. Jensen nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

“I like them, too.” Mac said. “They seem like nice people.” She yawned, curling into Jensen’s side. “I’m tired.” 

“Sleep. I’ll wake you up when we have to go.” Josh said.

Soon enough, Mackenzie’s breathing became even with sleep.

“I brought a thermometer. I hope it still works…” Donna said as she came into the room. “Oh, sorry! Didn’t know she was sleeping.” She whispered. “I should have taken you to the bedroom. Do you want to move her to the bed? She’ll probably be more comfortable there.”

“No need. They have slept in worse places. And I don’t really want to separate them. They sleep better together.”

“You sure?” 

“Yeah.” Josh smiled slightly. He looked at a very awake Jensen. “You’re quiet…”

“Just thinking.” Jensen said softly. He turned to look at Donna. “I’m really sorry we intruded. I’m sure you just wanted to relax with your husband…” 

“No, sweety, no! You have nothing to be sorry about!” Donna interrupted. “Truth is, my husband and I, we feel that this house is too big for only the two of us. We always liked children and we always wanted to have some. We have been trying to adopt, but the paperwork is taking too long. Having you here, even if it’s only been an hour since we met, is kind of like caring after children of our own.” She paused to think. “ I would like you to come again. I would like to get to know you, and I am sure that my husband would agree.” 

Donna sat down next to Jensen, and, after seeing his teary eyes, hugged him. Jensen cried on her shoulder until falling asleep. 

As Donna helped an emotionally exhausted Jensen lay back to sleep more comfortably, she noticed the look of extreme gratitude on Josh’s face and wondered how could she have gotten such a look for something that any mother would do. The answer was clear to her. Apparently not every mother. Or not theirs at least. 

It was in that exact moment when she realized that she would do everything in her power to help and protect the three children in front of her. 

Jensen woke up after a while. Donna decided to check his temperature while they talked silently so as not to disturb Mac’s sleep. His temperature was a little high, but not high enough to worry. When Alan arrived, Jensen was dozing off again. Josh gave him the medicine quickly, before allowing him to fall asleep again.

Around midnight, Josh realized that their parents could arrive at any minute.

“I should be getting them back home, but I really don’t want to wake them up just yet.” He said. “They look so peaceful.” _And this is probably the best sleep they’ve had in a while_ , he completed in his thoughts.

“Don’t wake them, then. I’ll help you to take them back to your house.” Alan said. 

“You don’t mind? You’ve done so much for us already.” 

“It’s no trouble at all, kid.” Alan answered. “You know, we’d really like to get to know you better.” He said, as an afterthought.

Josh considered what he said. “Would it bother you if we started coming over for some evenings?” He asked timidly. 

“I wish you could come every evening.” Donna muttered.

Josh chuckled. “I do, too.”

“You are welcome to come any time you’d like.” Alan told him. Donna nodded her approval. “Who are you taking then?” Alan asked, looking at the kids.

“I’ll get Jen, you get Mac.” Josh answered.

“Sorry, who?”

Josh laughed quietly.

“I forgot we never told you our names. Jen is short for Jensen. Mac’s for Mackenzie.” he explained.

“Ah! So the girl, then.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s your name?”

“Josh. Short for Joshua.”

“Okay, Josh, let’s get this rugrats home then, shall we?” Alan said as he picked Mac up.

Josh did the same. Little did he realize that when he picked Jensen up, his shirt accidentally rode up a little, but it was enough for Donna to spot the bruises the smaller boy supported. At first, she thought she had seen wrong, but then she saw Jensen wince in sleep and Josh, apologetic expression in place, trying to soothe him. She would definitely try to keep a close eye on her neighbours. Not to mention let Alan know about her discovery.

“Do you need help?” She asked Josh.

“Nah, I’m good. This is not the first time I have to carry him asleep.” He smiled fondly, walking towards the door. 

It closed behind him, leaving Donna alone.

  
  


Slowly, Josh and Alan made their way into the house. 

Alan looked around as Josh led him to their room. He noticed the unnatural cleanness in the house. He couldn’t observe much more, though. 

Joshua led them to a room with three beds, all of them neatly made. There were no clothes nor toys laying around. There was only a small decayed dresser with four drawers. 

Josh pointed to Mac’s bed while walking to Jensen’s, and once he and Josh had tucked the kids in, they silently left the room and walked to the front door.

“You know, we meant what we said.” Alan said.”You and your siblings are always welcomed.”

“Thank you. I cannot express in words how much that means to us.” Josh replied. “I don’t know if you will want to have us everyday, though. We can be quite a burden.”

“You? A burden? Who said that lie?” Alan asked seriously. “My nephew can be a bit of a burden at times, but you kids are a pleasure to have around.”

“Thanks.” Josh couldn’t find anything else to say to that.

“No thanks are needed.” Alan said truthfully. “Just make sure you come by sometimes, okay?”

“We will.” Josh smiles. And with that, Alan went home.

Donna was waiting for him at the doorway. 

“So? What do you think about our little neighbors?” Alan asked her.

“I wish they were our own. Such sweet kids.” She answered. “Did you notice how much they doubted our every word?” 

“Yes, I did.” Alan replied. “I wanted to ask you, did you see Jensen wince when Josh picked him up?”

“I was going to ask you about that. I did see him wince.” Donna paused to think. “Did you ever meet their parents?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I think we should keep an eye on them, just in case.”

“It’s a good thing then that they seem to like us. It’s going to make things easier.” Alan said.

“What do you mean?” Donna asked. 

“I am pretty sure they’ll be coming back soon.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Graphic violence towards a child in this chapter. Both verbal and physical violence displayed.

Alan's prediction was proved accurate when a few days later Joshua brought his siblings to the Ackles' home. As weeks went by, Alan and Donna got to know the kids better. After two months, they learnt the things that most people never got to learn. So when Josh’s seventeenth birthday was a few weeks away, it only stood to reason for Jensen and Mackenzie to ask the Ackles for help. 

Donna and Alan had thought hard about what to give him. They originally considered giving him something that would be uniquely his, but upon further thought, they decided that the best thing would be to give him something that would be useful for the three siblings. 

Two weeks before the date, they still disagreed on what to give him. The idea didn’t come to Alan until three days later, when Joshua mentioned something about wanting to take his siblings somewhere, but not being able to because of not knowing how to drive.

When he first pitched Donna his idea of getting him a driver's permit, she didn’t quite like it. Truth was that for them to be able to do that, they would first need permission from Josh’s parents. 

“And I don’t think they would give it to you in less than two weeks, considering that they don’t even know you.” She said, “Although, you would only need Josh’s agreement to start teaching him, considering how little their parents are involved in their caretaking. Maybe you could try to convince him to agree by telling him the usefulness of it in case of an emergency.That would be possible to do. Now, if your idea was to get him a driver’s license...” 

The next time they saw Jensen and Mackenzie, they asked them if they liked the idea. No sooner had Alan finished talking, than Mackenzie was squealing in delight. Even Jensen, who generally was the most silent, made an enthusiastic sound. 

And with that, the gift was chosen.

Little did the kids know that there was a second part to the gift. 

  
  
  
  
  


The big day came, and, as expected Josh couldn’t believe it.

“This is a joke, right?” Was Josh’s reply to the proposition. After a while, he finally came to terms with his gift, and accepted it.

“It’s still too much…”

“None of that! Alan would be delighted to teach you.” Donna said. “It’s like teaching the kids we never had. You and your siblings brought that light into our house. You decided to share that with us. It’s the least we can do.”

Josh’s smile was almost blinding.

“There’s another gift for you.” Alan said. “This one is for all of you.”

He grabbed the small package and gave it to Josh.

As he opened it, Josh’s face changed from happily surprised to completely exasperated.

“We can’t take this.” Was his immediate reaction.

“Son, you have been coming to this house every day for some time now. Y’all have become part of the family. It’s only fair for you to have a key to this house.” Alan said, patiently.

Truth be told, when Alan and Donna made the spare key, they were thinking of a little more than just Josh’s birthday. They were searching for something to alleviate their worries without letting them know.

  
  


Donna and Alan had learnt a lot about the siblings in the short time they knew them, but they didn’t know it all. For instance, there was something related to Jensen’s skinniness, to his barely there flinches when someone (who wasn’t his siblings) raised their hand, to his bruises - yes, they had noticed those, too - to Josh’s overprotective manner, to the abnormally close relationship between the siblings in spite of their age, among other things that signaled abuse.

By giving them a key, Donna and Alan hoped to give the kids a place to escape while they figured out how to prove their theories. They had tried to ask them discreetly, but the questions were always met with silence. The same thing happened when asked about their parents.

“It’s too much. This is too much.” Josh said, after a long silence. “I’ve said it a million times, but I’ll say it again.” He paused to look Alan in the eye. “Thank you. For everything, thank you!” And, for the first time ever, the only people who gave them a home.

Weeks went by, Josh barely used the key, unless it was to help with the house-chores, which, against Donna and Alan’s wishes, the siblings had wanted to do. And, in exchange, Donna and Alan helped the kids switch money related things - when their parents weren’t home - such as food, medicine, among other things. They had also volunteered, and for this they had to ask Trisha and James’ approval, to “babysit'' Jensen and Mackenzie if Josh wasn’t available (sure, it took some persuading, but they managed), so when Josh’s call arrived to announce a sick Jensen would be stopping by in the afternoon, Donna and Alan were prepared.

Josh finished the call, and got ready to take his youngest sibling to school, leaving a sick Jensen in the care of his alcoholic mother, who refused to bother their neighbours so early in the morning.

“Mac? You got everything?” Josh asked a nervous-looking Mac.

“Yeah.” The recently turned six-year-old answered. “Will he really be okay?”

Josh understood the need to ask the question. He himself felt uneasy.  
“I don’t know.” He said truthfully, “But if we ask for anything it will probably be worse.”

“Right.” The little girl still looked troubled.

Knowing that he couldn’t reassure his sister any further while feeling the same, Josh decided to drop the conversation.

“You didn’t answer my question. Are you ready to go?” He said.

“Yeah. I think I’ve got everything.”

“Me, too.” Josh replied. “Let’s go.”

Little did Josh know that what he forgot would forever change their lives.

Half a morning had gone by and Josh could only worry for Jensen. He had started to feel dread the minute his mother said that Jensen would stay with her.  
He knew that his mother would rather cut her own head clean-off than look after any of the two boys. (But specially Jensen. Also, the woman loooved Mac, since she was the only girl, plus the baby of the family.)

So when his father arrived at his highschool to pick him up early, already having his sister in the car, his dread intensified ten-fold.

They got to the house, where they were joined by a terrified Jensen.  
They understood Jensen’s reaction when they saw their mother juggling the keys to the Ackles’ house.

“Earlier today, when I was cleaning the kitchen floor, I found these keys. Imagine my surprise when I realised that they weren’t from our house.” She paused to emphasize, “I started thinking: ‘where could these keys be from?’ Not from any other family other than your father and I. I didn’t give them to you, so I asked your father. He said he didn’t either. Couldn’t be from any girlfriend or boyfriend. Mackenzie is too small, Joshua doesn’t have one and who would ever want to be with Jensen? No. This was from someone you’ve seen regularly. Someone who we trust to look after you.” She paused again, “Then I realized it was our neighbours. Our neighbours whom YOU proposed to ask for help.”

Some seconds passed silently.

“So I’m going to ask: Whose are these keys?”

Silence.

“WHOSE ARE THESE KEYS? I WON’T ASK AGAIN, AND IF I DON’T RECEIVE AN ANSWER, YOU ARE ALL GOING TO BE SEVERELY PUNISHED!” Trisha yelled.

“They’re mine.” Jensen answered calmly. “One day they saw my bruises, and the next one they gave me a key. Josh and Mac didn’t know.”

“THAT’S NOT TRUE! THOSE KEYS ARE MINE. THEY GAVE THEM TO ME AS A BIRTHDAY PRESENT. DON’T LISTEN TO JENSEN! HE’S TRYING TO COVER FOR ME. THIS IS MY FAULT.” Josh screamed no sooner had Jensen finished speaking.

“SILENCE!” Their father roared. “It doesn’t matter whose keys those were. What matters is that this… this… THING”, he pointed at Jensen, “This thing has been brainwashing you since he was born. We know he put the idea that our neighbours were good in your heads. We know that everything you kids have done was his idea.” He lowered his finger, “That is all going to change tonight.” And with that, he grabbed Jensen’s wrist and pulled him away from his siblings. Then he started to kick Jensen. Josh resumed his yelling.

“STOP!” Josh screamed. He could see so much blood already, “STOP! YOU ARE KILLING HIM!”

He reached out to grab at his father’s arm, ending with a punch to his face. Joshua fell.  
“JOSH!” Mac, who had so far been too shocked to move, screamed. When she was going to move towards him, their mother grabbed her.

“No.” She said, smiling, “This is necessary.”

Satisfied, their father left Joshua to continue beating Jensen. Mackenzie’s shouts resumed.

What felt like an eternity later, their father threw one last kick to Jensen’s abdomen.

“Your mother and I are leaving now.” He said, “When we come back, everything had better be clean.” And with that, they left.


	4. Chapter 4

Josh couldn’t concentrate. He knew someone was talking to him, but he couldn’t focus.

“Josh?” He heard a young voice say, “Josh? Are you awake? I need help.”

Mac.

That was Mac’s voice.

She said she needed help.

_ So go help her, you idiot! _ He thought, still not completely rational.

“Wha’?” He slurred.  _ Damnit! What did I do last night? Never doing that again... _

“Josh? Are you okay?” Mac asked, she seemed terrified.

Her voice must have triggered something in his brain, because suddenly, he was bombarded with images of what had happened.

“Jen!” 

“He’s not waking up. I’m scared.” Mac whispered.

Josh tried his best to focus. At first, everything looked blurry and a little red. Little by little, his vision started to clear, but the red persisted. That is when he realized that it wasn’t his imagination or his eye-sight. Crimson tainted everything that was around them. The floor, the wall, Jensen… Jensen! They needed help, fast!

He crawled towards his brother, as fast as he could without getting dizzy.

“Jen! Oh my God!” He exclaimed, when he reached his side, “Oh, God!”

Jensen was a mess. The kid was laying on his left side, all visible skin red with blood, his left arm looked as if he were protecting his stomach, his other arm was stretched to an angle that should never be possible for a human being. It was also near a puddle of blood that expanded from below his head, fingers almost reaching it.

Josh sat on his knees next to him. He didn’t move Jensen’s head for fear of making the damage worse. 

Being this close to Jensen’s face, Josh could see the damage done to it. It was full-on black and blue on the right side, hinting at blood traced tear tracks that ran down to the left side of his face, being obscured by the position the kid’s head was in.

Joshua couldn’t say anything. Murder rose inside of him at the thought that the people who were supposed to look after them, where capable of harming such an innocent little kid, whose only fault was to try to protect those he loved. 

Along with the need to murder his parents, he started feeling guilt. He blamed himself for not being able to fight more to protect his little brother. To shield him from the harm of the cruel people they were forced to live with. 

Bile rose in his throat at that thought.

“Don’t worry, Jen.” He said to an unconscious Jensen, “Everything will be okay, brother. You’ll see.”

Jeff just hoped for it not to be too late.

  
  
  
  


Alan was worried. The siblings were an hour late and, on top of that, he had heard some noises that seemed like screams from the house across the street. What if…

A series of knocks on his door distracted him from his thoughts. The second he opened it, Mac started talking rapidly and in between tears. 

“Heeey, hey, kiddo. What’s wrong?” Alan said, trying to calm the distressed girl. She didn’t seem to be calming.

Alan’s dread strengthened.

“We need h-help!” Mac cried, “Jensen’s not waking up.” 

Alan ran out of his house and into his neighbors without a second thought to what he was doing. He barely noticed Mackenzie running after him.

The sight he saw as he entered the house, nearly did him in.

A bloody unresponsive Jensen laid next to an openly sobbing Joshua. The older kid seemed to be whispering something to his brother. Judging by the tone, it was supposed to be reassuring. Alan thought that it was probably for himself as much as it was for his brother. 

Looking more closely, Alan noticed the small tremors that were shooting through Joshua’s body. 

_Damn it!_ _Kid’s probably in shock._ He thought.

“Mac, call 911. And toss me the phone.” No need to ask a traumatized six-year-old to try to explain what just happened. 

  
  
  


Everything passed in a blur after that. Once the paramedics arrived, they got Jensen into the ambulance, Josh riding with them. Alan and Mac followed in Alan’s car.

  
  


When the ambulance reached the hospital, Joshua tried to follow his brother as close as he could, without bothering the doctors helping his brother. He witnessed as the doctors wheeled Jensen behind the big white doors that lead to the only people who could save his brother’s life.

  
  


Time passed agonizingly slow after that. A police man appeared to take a statement, and CPS had been contacted. 

The CPS worker that arrived was a nice young woman called Sandra McCoy. She was sweet and patient, and stayed with the kids while Alan called Donna to tell her what had happened.

Joshua no longer knew what time it was. The only thing he knew was that Mac was safe sleeping next to him, and that the doctors were taking too long. 

_ The ‘no news is good news’ line is utter bullshit. _ Josh thought.  _ No news is just no news at all. _

Just then, he saw Sandy, as the woman had asked him to call her, stand up. A middle aged guy dressed in blue scrubs approached them. Josh guessed that it was probably Jensen’s attending doctor. 

Behind him came Alan. The doctor threw a questioning glance at Sandy, who nodded. 

“Hello. I’m Dr. Jim Beaver. I’m the surgeon who operated on Jensen.” The man introduced himself. “Jensen’s case was a complicated one to evaluate. He was found unconscious at the scene, but he was breathing on his own when he was brought in. He had several cuts and contusions. He sustains two broken ribs and a couple of bruised ones. He will find it hard to move around for some time.” The doctor paused. “There’s also the matter of his right arm. He has a medial epicondylar fracture, which is when the inside of the elbow tip fractures. The splintered bone had displaced. That means that the bones moved out of alignment. We needed to realign the bone and put in two pins to keep it in the right position.” The doctor explained.

Alan visibly paled, so did Joshua. 

“We have applied a splint to protect the area for now. We will probably need to replace it with a cast, but that is further on.”

“Will this type of fracture bring any difficulty to his movement?” Alan asked quietly.

“Generally, no. The elbow's range of motion returns to normal, or has just a mild limitation.” The doctor answered. “Jensen woke up after surgery. He responded well, and seemed coherent, though upon further inspection, he seemed to have a mild concussion.”

“When can we see him?” Joshua asked.

“Right now. He will be asleep due to the heavy duty medication, but you can keep him company as long as you want.”

“Our sister is six. She saw all of what happened and will probably want to see him. Is that going to be a problem?”

The doctor hesitated.

“Generally, we wouldn’t let her because of her age, but because of the special circumstances, we will make an exception.” Dr. Beaver said, “I’ll ask someone to direct you to the room. Do you have any questions?”

“No, sir. Thank you.” Josh said.

The doctor nodded and left.


	5. Epilogue

_ One year later _

  
  


“Josh, could you help me with some of Alan’s boxes? There are an awful lot more than I thought there were.” Donna chuckled.

“Coming!” Came the immediate reply.

“Oh, come on, honey! I’ve got less than you!” Alan jokingly whined.

Jensen sat on the porch, looking at his family. A whole year had passed since the best/worst day of his life.

Best day, because it was the day that everything changed for his siblings and him. From that day onwards, he didn’t need to be afraid of Trisha and James, afraid for his brother and sister. Afraid for himself. Gone were the days when he worried about the next beating, the next lie. From that day onwards, everything started to get better. 

Worst day? Well, you can guess that one…

Granted, it wasn’t easy. There were some things that took a while to get used to. Some things that he had to get over. Hell, he still wasn’t over a lot of stuff. But it was getting better. Every day. And that was something that he had to thank his family for.

His family. That was a major change right there. Before that day, his family consisted of an older brother and a younger sister. Now though, his family was formed by his brother, his sister, doting dad and a loving mom - and all of the extended family that come with them.

After that day, Donna and Alan did everything they could to keep the siblings. It didn’t take a lot, to be honest. Trisha and James had disappeared after the beating and never came back. Or, actually, never could get back. They were caught on the second day of Jensen’s hospital stay. Funnily enough (though it really is not),they got stopped by a cop because they were speeding. But that wasn’t the end of it. They reeked of alcohol, so the cop decided to test them. He didn’t get that far. When the couple was getting out of the car, he noticed the blood on James’ hands. Blood that would later match perfectly with that of his youngest son.

Or at least that was what the cop said when asked on the stand during the trial.

  
  


Anyways, Donna and Alan stepped up to take care of the kids, and since the biological father was found dead (something for which James was also accused of), and their father’s family wanted nothing to do with them, Alan and Donna were allowed to take the kids in.

Funny how for all that the siblings learnt about the Ackles in the short time they knew each other, five months after the fateful day, Mac was ready to call them Mom and Dad.

  
  
  


All of this was what Jensen was thinking when a hand on his shoulder startled him from his thoughts. 

Jensen tracked the hand back to a dark-haired, kind of short, smiling guy.

“Hey!” The guy said, “Sorry for bothering, but my friends and I were wondering if it was your family that was moving into Ms. Hamson’s old house.”

“Yeah…” Jensen replied.

“Cool! I’m Chris. The guys sitting on the grass are Jared and Steve.” Chris said, pointing at each while naming them.

“I’m Jensen.”

“Nice to meet you, man.” Pause. “Wanna come with?”

Jensen hesitated. He looked at mom, and noticed her looking back while smiling slightly. She seemed to have heard, because she started nodding and waving as if saying ‘Go’.

So, that’s what Jensen did...

The end... for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:   
> This story wouldn't have been possible without my awesome beta: nissam_iris, nor without the help from other of my friends (who do not have an AO3 account).
> 
> The idea behind this ending is to write a series of one-shots following their life in the future, including the characters introduced in the epilogue.


End file.
